soldiers were killed. Under cover of machine gun fire, Austlid and six volunteers ran 90 meters across open terrain. At 50 meters' range from the German positions, Austlid ordered his men to mount bayonets. He was himself only armed with a handgun. As they stormed up the hill toward their objective, Austlid was shot in the chest and apparently died on the spot. The assault disintegrated after that, and the convoy made a disorderly retreat southwards. Nevertheless, it was clear that Austlid's operation has secured the convoy's progress and was therefore a tactical success. Aftermath After the war, the aforementioned Trygve Lie wrote in his memoirs that Austlid and his men had walked unawares into a German ambush, and that his actions were hasty and reckless. Lie "washed his hands" of the matter and argued rhetorically that "what could we civilians do." In an authoritative war history written by Otto Munthe-Kaas repeated this version of events, though Munthe-Kaas called for a further investigation of the matter "in fairness to Austlid and his boys." An article series by Minda Flattum in the Norwegian regional newspaper Dagningen showed discrepancies between the official version, as reflected in Trygve Lie's memoirs, and eyewitness reports. Austlid's son Bjørnar Austlid conducted a private investigation by finding his father's brother in arms and other witnesses and found that previous accounts of combat operations had been factually misleading and libelous of captain Austlid. An article in the journals of the historical association at Stange, the efforts of retired colonel Ulmar Wollan, and the interest of Minister of Defence Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen led to the restoration of Austlid's reputation. It became clear that while Trygve Lie clearly did not have the command authority he sought to impose on Austlid, Austlid nevertheless made an assault characterized by competence and courage. On March 24, 2010, prime minister Jens Stoltenberg attended the posthumous award of the War Cross with Sword to Eiliv Austlid, represented by three of his children. This was the first time in 60 years that the medal has been awarded. The site of Austlid's assault is visible from European route E6 north of Dovre at On April 15, 2010, on the 70th anniversary of Austlid's death, Stange historielag (Stange historical association) published a book about Austlid's contributions, how his reputation was mistreated by historians, bureaucratic obstacles to restoring it, and how individuals succeeded in ascertaining the true facts. References 1899